Tales Of A Vampiric Schoolgirl
by Leilani96
Summary: Hazel Kerrison, a half Vampire, must learn to survive at her new school, Hogwarts. She meets up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and immediately befriends them. But what adventures await this mysterious half Vampire. . . .?
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

I sat, alone, in the compartment on the scarlet-colored train that carried me away to my first year at Hogwarts — despite the fact I was already fifteen. Sighing, I looked out the window onto beautiful scenery whizzing by. My bored mind lazily sifted through my memories, and I soon found myself back at our dark, gloomy manor; the only home I had ever known. In my mind, I was standing before my father. Tall, lean, and muscular, his handsome face looked down at me, oddly grave, and his long black hair fell loosely to his shoulders.

_ "Father, must I go to this . . . __Hogwarts__?" I asked my father inquiringly, looking up at his face. He smiled sincerely down at me, his eyes dull and somber. The usually pulsating electric-blue color within them was now a deep grey._

_ "Haiz, you know as well as I that this must be done," my father patiently told me, though I could tell his heart was full of regret and sorrow for his decision to send me off. "If you stay here any longer, you may place yourself in grave danger. Even your mother and I are going into hiding after we see to it that you arrive safely at your school."_

_ Far from reassuring me, my father's words drove fear through me like a stake. Why would my father have to go into hiding? Surely he was more powerful than whatever — or whomever — was seeking him._

_ Seeing the trauma his words had caused me, my father quickly wrapped me up in a reassuring hug._

_ "Don't worry, Haiz," he whispered in my ear. "Everything will work out fine. Just remember, your mother and I love you."_

Suddenly, the compartment door opened, jerking me from my thoughts. Looking up, I saw three people standing in the doorway, all of whom looked to be my age. There was a girl with frizzy, light brown hair who looked smart; on her left was a boy, a tall and gangly red-head with freckles; at the smart girl's right-hand side stood another boy with jet-black hair and piercingly green eyes. All of them looked at me passively.

"Hi. Is it okay if we sit in here?" the girl asked me politely. "We've been — ah — kicked out of our compartment. It was over-run by a slimy git with blonde hair and his minions." I smiled at her description and nodded.

"Sure," I replied, sliding over, giving the trio more room to sit. The frizzy-haired girl returned the smile and led the other two into the compartment, all of them dragging their luggage with them. Soon after they put their things in the luggage rack, I found myself sitting next to the girl, with the two boys sitting across from us.

"Well, let's introduce ourselves," the girl next to me said. She stuck out her hand formally to me. "My name is Hermione Granger." I smiled and shook her hand.

"Hi, Hermione," I replied, "My name is Hazel Kerrison."

"My name is Ron Weasley," the red-head from across the compartment said, imitating Hermione by sticking out his right hand. I shook it and looked at the boy with black hair.

"And I'm Harry Potter," he said apprehensively, sticking out his hand. I shook it, noting his tone of voice when he told me his name, and guessed that it came from the fear of being idolized — which was a sure thing to happen to any famous witch or wizard in the Wizarding World. I made no comment on his name, merely glancing as quickly as possible at his forehead to confirm that he was exactly who he claimed to be. Sure enough, the tell-tale lightening-bolt shaped scar seemed to flourish itself before my eyes, dramatically standing out against Harry's fairly pale skin.

As soon as I had seen the scar long enough to recognize it for what it was, I quickly averted my eyes, knowing how uncomfortable it was to be stared at. I could feel Harry's slight annoyance from the stare simmering gently in the room. Fortunately, I was spared from too much discomfort by Ron, who began asking questions, making the general ambiance of the compartment more welcome and relaxed.

"So, are you new this year?" he questioned, looking at me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "I don't remember ever seeing you at Hogwarts."

"Yeah, my dad kind of forced me to go to a wizarding school this year," I said conversationally, looking out the window for one more glance of the serene, sun-kissed rolling hills before it got too dark. An excited gasp distracted me from the beauty of the scenery, forcing my brain to concentrate on making new friends and, thusly, staying with the conversation.

"Ooh, so you're going to get sorted this year!" Hermione exclaimed. I looked at her, confusion etched all over my face. This was one part of Hogwarts tradition that my father had not mentioned.

"Sorted?" I repeated cautiously. "What's that?" As Hermione quickly explained to me the process of being sorted into the four different houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin), I got the impression that she was a know-it-all, nice as she may be.

"So, what house are you guys in?" I asked my three new-found friends as soon as Hermione had finished describing in much detail every single factor of the four houses.

"Gryffindor," the boy named Harry replied. "We're all in our fifth year."

"Oh, so that means that you're fifteen?" I asked them, catching onto the age system. When they nodded, I smiled.

"That's great, I'm going to be in your year too!" I said, grinning — I had already found three new friends, and we hadn't even arrived at school yet! The three of them smiled and looked as though they were about to say something when the compartment door opened with an ominous bang.

Looking up, I saw a sneering whitish-blonde haired boy standing in the doorway. His light grey eyes were full of malice, and his face held an evil sneer as he stared at the four of us seated in the compartment. When his eyes landed on me, his sneer widened — something I had previously thought to be impossible.

"Well, look here," he said evilly. "Potty and Weasel found themselves another girlfriend!" Instead of blushing, which the boy had obviously hoped I would do, I sneered right back at him, catching him off guard. At that moment, Harry and Ron leapt up, looking like angry panthers about to pounce upon their prey.

"Get out, Malfoy," Harry spat through gritted teeth.

"I don't think I will," the boy named Malfoy said egotistically. "I haven't introduced myself to this young beauty over here." Reaching over to me, Malfoy picked up my hand and, kissing it lightly, introduced himself politely.

"The name's Draco Malfoy," he said, his grey eyes boring into my hazel ones, still gently clutching my hand. "And your name is . . . ?" I wrenched my hand away from him and wiped it on my jeans.

"My name is Hazel," I snapped, already not liking this boy. "And if you don't get out this second, I deeply regret that I'll be forced to hex you." The moment my cool words left my mouth, I pulled my wand out of my back pocket, giving it an expert twirl for good measure. Malfoy eyed my wand fearfully before he backed out with as much dignity as possible.

"I'll be back later, Potty, Weasel," he called, sauntering away. Ron slammed the compartment door shut, causing the glass to shatter and fall to the ground. Giving my wand a wave, I quickly repaired the glass without even having to say the incantation out loud. Hermione looked impressed.

"What school did you go to before you got sent to Hogwarts?" she asked curiously.

"Er," I replied, unsure of how to put it. "Actually, I was home-schooled by my father." Just at that moment, however, the lights outside our compartment dimmed, obviously signaling the upcoming arrival at Hogwarts.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately began sorting through their luggage, each apparently searching for something. I remained seated, yet again confused by the odd customs of Hogwarts-folk.

"Um, what are you guys looking for?" I asked them, curiously looking from one to another.

"When the light dims," Ron began, his head stuck inside his tattered suitcase, "it means that we're getting near Hogwarts."

"Which means that we have to change into our school robes," Harry added, seeing the confusion on my face.

"Oh," I replied, walking over to my suitcase. Quickly pulling out my neatly folded school robes which lay on the top, I turned to Hermione.

"Where is the bathroom?" I asked her. I could have just changed in the compartment, but I, being a shy person, was sadly too embarrassed to do so in front of people I just met — even if they were my friends.

"Here, follow me," Hermione said, leading the way out of the compartment. After we changed, we went back to the compartment to find that Harry and Ron had begun a game of Exploding Snap.

"Ooh, I love that game!" I exclaimed, watching Ron pick up a card. Both boys ignored me. I glanced over at Hermione, my eyebrows raised at the boys' rudeness.

"They get really into their games," she said with a slight giggle. At that moment, the whole deck of cards exploded, singeing both Ron and Harry's hair. Hermione and I both burst out laughing at the shocked sight of them.

"Here," I said, taking out my wand again, "I'll fix that." With a slight flick of my wand, both boys sat in front of us, their hair completely back to normal, all signs of soot and ash gone. Once more, the trio stared at me.

"How do you do that?" Harry asked me, intrigued. I looked at him, shocked.

"You mean Hogwarts doesn't teach nonverbal spells?" I asked, surprised. He shook his head.

"At least, not yet," he replied, staring at me oddly. "I think we start learning how to do them during our sixth year. How do you already know them?" I shrugged modestly.

Suddenly, the train slowed to a halt, and everybody clambered off the scarlet machine, not wanting to be left on it. I was about to grab my luggage when Hermione stopped me.

"You just leave it in the compartment," she stated calmly, walking out of the compartment with me in her wake. "They transport our luggage to the school somehow." I nodded and ran to catch up with her.

"So, how are we getting to the school?" I asked Hermione. She pointed up ahead at carriages. Harry and I gaped at them.

Connected to the front of the carriages were the oddest creatures I've ever seen. They looked like reptilian horses of some sort, but they didn't seem to be dangerous.

"Are we going in the carriages?" I asked apprehensively. Hermione turned to look at me, obviously shocked that I was standing there.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed, roughly leading me towards a lake that I hadn't noticed before. Standing before the lake was a squat, frog-like woman who was calling first years towards her in an annoyingly high-pitched and overly girly voice. Hermione shoved me towards her.

"You're probably supposed to go with the first years across the lake," Hermione said, giving me another push towards the lake. "We'll be waiting for you in the Great Hall. Keep your fingers crossed that you get in Gryffindor!" With that, she ran off to join Harry and Ron in the carriages.

I noticed that the short woman was looking at me oddly, so I turned to face her.

"Yes?" I asked as politely as I could, annoyance simmering within me. She merely sneered at me and ushered the first years towards small row boats, leaving me to follow.

"Four to a boat, no more," she stated, glaring daggers at me. I shrugged off her glare and stepped into one of the boats, my long, wispy brown hair flowing out behind me with a sudden gust of wind. Soon, three other first years followed me into the boat, looking at me apprehensively. Apparently, they thought I was another escort to bring them safely across the lake. Eventually, all of the boats were full.

"Off we go!" the squat lady trilled. With a small jolt, the boats moved forward magically. While the first years seemed transfixed by the simple magic of it, I leaned back and crossed my arms, holding a glaring contest with the frog-woman. She had something against me; there was no doubt about that.

Suddenly, my stomach dropped as a thought occurred to me. Surely she didn't know about my secret. Looking back at the woman, I noticed that she had seen the sudden fear in my eyes. Grinning smugly, she turned to face the front of the boat. I also looked ahead, and let out an audible gasp, along with the other first years.

Our small boats were headed for the most amazing castle I had ever seen. It shone and glittered majestically, emitting a magical radiance from within. As we neared the shore, the boats smoothly slid up the bank, and we climbed out of them, headed for the depths of the castle, waiting to be sorted.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted. A relieved little girl walked off to the Hufflepuff table, greeted with a roar of applause and many handshakes. Sorting had turned out to be surprisingly boring. At first, I thought it might be fun and exciting; seeing your peers be tested and placed into their proper houses. Then we all found out what sorting really was: putting on a talking hat and waiting for its decision. After the long wait (Professor McGonagall had made me go to the back of the line), it was my turn to be sorted. I could hear whispering as the teacher who proclaimed herself as Professor McGonagall called my name.

"Kerrison, Hazel!" I boldly stepped up to the stool on which the tattered hat lay. Seating myself gracefully on the stool, I gently placed the hat on my head. As I waited patiently, I heard a raspy voice inside my head that I took to be that hat's voice, inspecting my mind, deciphering which house I belonged to.

"Hmmm, interesting, very interesting," the hat murmured. "A Vampire? Never before, never before. . ."

_ "I'm only half Vampire,"_ I thought back to the hat. However, that hat ignored me, and continued searching through my mind. Finally, it spoke back.

"Ah, well then, considering your morals and other such factors, there are only two houses left for you to go to. That would be Slytherin — a perfect fit for you, I must say — and Gryffindor — maybe not as good as a choice," the hat told me.

_ "Please, place me in the Gryffindor House,"_ I desperately thought to the hat. _"I already have friends there, and I'm afraid that I might not be able to make new friends if I get placed in Slytherin — considering what I am."_

I waited nervously as the hat thought about which House I was to be placed in. Finally, it yelled out a name, a name that would forever change the course of my year at Hogwarts.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted to the Great Hall, much to my relief. I happily plucked the hat off of my head and walked off to the Gryffindor table, where I was immediately greeted by Ron, Harry, and Hermione, who all beamed at me.

"Hazel! We're so glad you became a Gryffindor!" Hermione whispered as the teachers began to murmur softly to the long-bearded Professor who sat in the middle of the table up front — no doubt talking about me.

"Yeah, I almost got placed in — what was it called?" I told them. "Oh, yes. The hat almost placed me in the Slytherin House." Silence met my words.

"What?" I asked my three friends, who were staring at me, horrified.

"Slytherin is the worst house to be placed in," Ron whispered to me, his eyes wide in shock. "You know that bloke who came into our compartment on the train? The one with blonde hair?"

"Unfortunately, yes," I replied.

"Well, he is from Slytherin," Ron continued. "I'm telling you, you should stand clear of those Slytherins." Before I could reply, the old, withered man with a long, sparkling beard stood up before us, claiming silence. He looked around at us all, serene and calm, holding his arms apart, as though beckoning us.

"Welcome, welcome, to another year at Hogwarts!" he exclaimed, his voice thunderous and powerful despite his old age. "First, I would like to welcome our newest teacher, Professor Umbridge, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year," the man said. All of the students applauded rather warmly, though it was clear that all they had on their minds was food.

"There is not much more to say on a night so fine as this," the man continued once the lukewarm applause died down, "So let me hold you back no longer. Let the feast begin!"

As soon as the man uttered those last words, the plates in front of us filled up with every kind of food imaginable. Everybody grabbed at the food, laughing, talking, and eating. I eyed Ron with slight disgust, as he was ferociously tearing at his steak with the voracity of a starving lion.

Averting my eyes from this nasty sight, I put only a few items on my plate; a small piece of bread, a card-sized piece of steak, and a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Ron stared at me as I began to eat my meal.

"Is that all you're eating?" he exclaimed, clearly shocked. When I nodded my head, he looked away, disbelief etched onto his face, and continued to wolf down his food. Within minutes, I was done with my meal. Hermione looked over at me and frowned.

"You know, you can take more food," she said.

"I know," I replied, "I'm just not that hungry." The truth was, it was the night of a new moon. Although it might not have seemed like much to anybody else, it meant a lot to me. Since I was a half-Vampire, I only needed blood once a month — on the night of the new moon. So, once a month, I would sneak off into the forest surrounding our manor and hunt for some form of wounded animal. I only drunk the blood of animals (about one pint, to be exact) for I never, ever fed upon the blood of humans. As long as I had at least one pint of blood each month, I could keep my blood cravings under control, preventing me from accidentally attacking a human.

After what seemed like hours, the food in front of us disappeared. I excitedly looked around, hoping that we would be able to leave, but at that moment, the plates re-filled themselves with every type of dessert imaginable.

Hermione laughed at the disappointed look on my face.

"It'll be another half hour, at least," she told me, putting some sort of delicious looking chocolate pudding on her plate. I shrugged, unable to resist the chocolaty temptation, and did the same.

At last, all of the dessert disappeared from the plates. Restless despite the scrumptious pudding, I looked up to see that the old man had stood up once again. The room suddenly became silent, almost as though somebody had pressed pillows against everybody's faces, preventing them from making a noise.

The old man looked around at us all, studying each of our faces, his electric blue eyes rested on my hazel ones. With a slightly worried expression on his face, he looked up and saw the new moon. Apparently knowing what that meant, he quickly excused all of us from the Great Hall with a few odd words.

I leapt up along with the other students, eager to leave the Great Hall and find some fresh blood for me to drink, but at that moment, somebody tapped me lightly on the shoulder. Turning around, I saw Professor McGonagall standing behind me with a slightly apprehensive look printed upon her face, students swarming around her to go to their Common Rooms.

"Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you," she said, leading me over to the old man. I looked at him and realized that he must be Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school. The hall was soon empty.

"I assume that you need blood tonight?" Professor Dumbledore asked me, peering down at me with his half-moon glasses. I was immediately intimidated; his voice reverberated powerfully around the hall, and his piercing eyes gave the impression that he could read minds. I paused before answering; did he hate Vampires too?

"Yes, but if you would allow me to go within the forest that borders this school, I will be able to prey upon a wounded animal," I said. My father had instructed me on what to tell Professor Dumbledore, and he had obviously told the Professor that I was a half Vampire.

"Then I take it you don't drink human blood?" the Professor asked, becoming slightly tense, almost dreading my answer. I shook my head vigorously and allowed authentic repulsion to creep into my facial expression.

"No, I find it revolting — no offense," I quickly added. "Also, my father strongly believes that we should never take the life of a mortal just for our own needs. Instead, we prey upon the wounded animals that we find in the forest that rests on our property." That was only a summary of our true feelings towards taking human lives, but it would have to do. Professor Dumbledore nodded, seeming pleased.

"Go, then," he urged. "I give you permission to go into the Forbidden Forest, but only so that you can fulfill your thirst for blood." I nodded my head and thanked the headmaster before I turned and walked out of the Great Hall, out of the heavy metal doors, and onto the hazy grounds of Hogwarts, headed for the dark forest looming up ahead of me. My fangs protruded slightly over my lower lip as I allowed myself to give into the instinct of Vampires, hunting for the scent of fresh blood.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

"_**NO!**_ We have potions with Slytherin! _Again_!" Ron complained loudly to the whole Gryffindor table, causing most people within the Great Hall to stare. I sighed.

"Come on, Ron, I'm sure they're not that bad," I said consolingly, taking another bite out of my hashed browns. Today was to be our first full day at Hogwarts, and we had just gotten our schedules handed out to us by Professor McGonagall. Ron stared at me like I was crazy.

"'_Not that bad'_?" he exclaimed tremendously. However, before he could truly start ranting to me about how bad and annoying the Slytherins were, Hermione cut in, saving me from a long and boring lecture.

"So, Hazel," she said loudly, cutting an angry Ron off. "What classes do you have?" I looked at my schedule, then over at Hermione's schedule, comparing them, and smiled.

"The same classes you have," I stated, spooning some more hashed browns into my mouth. They were simply delicious. Hermione's eyes widened.

"Really?" she asked excitedly. I nodded, swallowing my yummy potatoes.

"See for yourself," I said, handing her my schedule. Hermione's eyes skimmed my schedule before she smiled and handed it back to me.

"Cool, now I _actually_ have a friend in all of my classes!" she exclaimed happily. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ron and Harry share an amused look.

"What?" I asked them, turning to face both Gryffindors.

"I find it funny," Ron stated, "That girls need to have a friend in every class or else they'll break down and _cry_ or something." I grinned mischievously.

"Hey, Ron," I said, leaning over his schedule. "It looks like you _just happen_ to have a class without any friends!" Ron stared at me with wide eyes.

"No!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, drawing attention from the other three tables. Hermione and I laughed rather wickedly.

"Good luck in _Divination_, Ron," I said mockingly, walking away with Hermione to go to our first class — Muggle Studies.

* * *

"What's the name of the teacher again?" I hissed to Hermione as we walked towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. We had just gotten out of Muggle Studies, and now we were to meet up with Ron and Harry in Defense Against the Dark Arts before lunch.

"Professor Umbridge, I think," Hermione replied, hitching her schoolbooks more securely in her arms.

As soon as we stepped into the D.A.D.A. room, I almost gasped. Sitting at her desk was the woman who hated me so much when she was forced to take me across the lake. She glared at me with beady eyes, her frog-like face contorted with hate.

"Ah, yes," she said, making me shudder at her high-pitched, girly voice. "_Hazel Kerrison._ Professor Dumbledore told us _all about you_ before the term started." The woman continued to sneer at me, her malicious eyes following me across the room as I chose a seat next to Hermione.

"What is she talking about?" Hermione muttered to me, just in time for Ron and Harry to sit down next to us.

"Who talking about what?" Harry asked. I automatically tensed up.

"Nothing," I replied rather briskly, refusing to give Hermione a chance to say anything. Ron and Harry looked at me oddly, but at that moment, the woman stood up and walked over to the center front of the room, peering around at all of us.

"Hello, class," she said in a falsely-friendly voice. "My name is Professor Umbridge, and I will be teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Hello Professor Umbridge," most of the class chanted, already wary of this new teacher. Professor Umbridge smiled broadly at all of us before she began the most boring lecture I had ever heard. I could practically feel my I.Q. level dropping just by sitting there, letting her mundane words seep into my mind, shutting off my awareness. My thoughts retreated to the depths of my mind, secretive and dark, mostly concentrating on the mysterious clearing I had arrived at the previous night whilst hunting . . .

Suddenly, somebody poked my arm rather hard.

"_What?_" I hissed at the person who turned out to be Hermione.

"I believe I just asked you, Miss Kerrison," came the horrible, sneering voice I despised so much, "if you could repeat to me what I just said." I smiled sweetly at Professor Umbridge, ready with my comeback.

"I'm afraid I can't," I boldly stated, making most of the class look at me with amazement in their eyes; students rarely ever got on their teacher's nerves within the first thirty minutes of class, least of all on the first day back to school!

"And why is that, Miss Kerrison?" Professor Umbridge asked, eyes narrowed, her large mouth stretched into a scowl. I smiled angelically up into her ugly face.

"Well," I said as sweetly as I could, being sure to mock her authority. "I'm afraid that your lecture was simply too boring for me. I mean, who in their right mind would want to hear all about _you_? So, I simply saved my mind from the dull epics of _your_ life by daydreaming. Do you find a problem with this?"

The whole class gasped at my boldness, including Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Professor Umbridge glared at me, loathing reflecting in her beady black eyes.

"Detention, Miss Kerrison," she whispered dangerously to me, her eyes glittering angrily. "You'd better be here at seven o'clock sharp tonight, not a second late." I glared right back into the professor's eyes, refusing to blink until her eyes began to water and she was forced to look away.

With a quick, nervous glance at me, almost as though she thought I was about to jump up there and drain her of all her blood, Professor Umbridge continued with her boring lecture, the excitement and surprise of the moment overrun by her girlish squeaking that echoed against the walls of the classroom.

Finally, class was dismissed to lunch. As my fellow peers flocked to the door, Hermione, Ron, and Harry chose instead to flock around me, pestering me about Professor Umbridge as we made our way to the Great Hall.

"Why does she hate you so much?" Hermione questioned me, making me laugh.

"If I knew, I would tell you," I told her, sitting down at the Gryffindor table. Deep within me, my heart twinged a bit at the lie; indeed, I _did_ have an idea as to why Professor Umbridge hated me, but I couldn't tell it to any of my friends without giving away that I was a half-Vampire — which would be bad for many reasons. The first was that they might not ever trust me again, and neither would the whole school if they somehow found out.

The second reason was because of Slayers. They snuck around, cloaked with dark mystery, killing off many a Vampire. Not once did they stop to make sure that the one they hunted was truly evil. More often then not they ended up brutally slaughtering a Vampire whose main purpose in life was stopping the _bad_ Vampires. All in all, Vampire Slayers were not good news for any Vampire, good or bad. If there was an undercover Vampire Slayer — or a child of a Slayer — within Hogwarts, my immortal life would soon be over with the single thrust of a stake to my heart. No, it was best to not tell anybody of my secret — at least, not yet.

The gentle whispering of feathers on air made me look up, my eyes meeting an amazing sight. High above us, flying into the Great Hall, were hundreds and hundreds of owls. Hermione noticed me gaping up at the ceiling and, looking up, immediately poked Harry on the shoulder.

"What?" he asked, annoyed.

"Hedwig is here," Hermione simply replied, continuing to eat her sandwich. Just then, a beautiful snowy owl landed on the table in front of Harry, who frowned at his owl.

"I have mail?" he asked, incredulous.

"Open it!" I urged him, eager to see what the letter said. Our family only owned just one owl, but he was frequently away, delivering important letters to other Vampires, so I never really knew the joys of owl post. Harry obliged and, upon ripping the card out of the envelope, quickly skimmed the letter. He then dropped it, apparently disgusted, on Hermione's lap and continued to eat his lunch.

Hermione and I glanced at each other, then looked at the note together, Ron's head bobbing over our shoulders.

* * *

_Dear Mr. Harry Potter,_

_We have reason to believe that you are in danger. One of your fellow Gryffindors is plotting your demise whilst we speak. You have two options: 1) Join our group, and your life will be ensured, making sure that your so called "friend" will not be able to harm you; or 2) Ignore our message, but remember that you have been warned. Your fellow Gryffindor __will__ attempt to murder you, and only if your join our group, you will be saved._

_You have been warned. _

_Signed,_

_The Bloodless_

_

* * *

_

I sat in shock, staring at the letter, my heart pounding. Dimly, in the background, I could hear Ron and Hermione telling Harry how fake and stupid the letter was, but they had no idea as to what it really meant.

_ Somebody within the school knew that I was a half-Vampire._ It didn't matter anymore that I was only a half Vampire, but whoever knew, they were out to get me. The signature on the envelope proved my point. "_The Bloodless_" was the name of one of the many Vampire Slayer "groups." The people who sent the letter obviously knew — or had suspicions — that I was a Vampire, and they wished to have Harry in their group. The reason for the last bit escaped my mind.

I suddenly stood up in a whirlwind of my thoughts, making my three friends stare at me, shocked at the abrupt movement.

"Uh," I stammered. "I just remembered, I forgot to send a letter to my father — you know, to tell him that I'm all right and at the school." My friends seemed to buy my story, but even so, before they could even open their mouths, I was out of the Great Hall, headed for the Owlery. Indeed, I was going to send a letter to my father, but not for the reason I told Harry, Hermione, and Ron. I was sending a letter telling my father of the note Harry had received. If it was what I thought it was, my life — and my family's lives — could be in serious danger.

I barged into the Owlery, startling some of the owls nearby, though I didn't care. My eyes had landed on a large Great Gray owl that would blend in perfectly under the dark cloak of the night. Quickly scribbling a letter in the Code of Vampires that explained everything, I sent the owl off on a journey to our gloomy mansion, praying with every fiber of my soul that the owl was a fast flier.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

I slowly walked back to the Gryffindor Common room. It was nearing midnight, but I wasn't tired; I was guessing that it was just my Vampire genes kicking in again. I looked down at my right hand. Professor Umbridge was a witch all right, but not the smiling and friendly kind you would expect find at Hogwarts. No, she was the type of witch that you would read about in children's books; she was more of the witch who enjoyed inflicting pain upon others. Yes, I had just come back from her horrific detention, which resulted in me somehow carving the words "I will behave in class" onto the back of my hand.

I didn't know what type of magic Professor Umbridge used to complete this task, but whatever it was, it had to be stopped.

I paused in my walking and looked back down at my bloody hand. Glancing both ways to make sure the coast was clear, I quickly cloaked my body within the deep shadows of Hogwarts. Bringing my hand up to my face, I licked the blood off of my skin, immediately quenching the pain and sealing the wound. I continued to do this until my wound was completely healed before I stepped out of the shadows and continued on my way.

"Hazel?"

A tentative voice called to me, causing me to automatically twirl around to face the source, my eyes narrowed, trying to see who was there. My muscles tensed up, ready for battle, and I had to fight the urge to bare my fangs. I immediately relaxed when I saw that it was just Harry.

"Oh, hi Harry," I calmly stated, taking a step towards him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me. I could detect the suspicion in his voice.

"My detention with Professor Umbridge," I said bitterly, spitting out her vile name like poison. Harry smiled at my hatred towards the professor.

"Hmm, I'm guessing that you hate her as much as she hates you, especially since she held you this late," he said, still smiling.

"Yeah, though I don't know why she hates me so much," I replied, lying through my teeth. "So, why are _you_ wandering around so late?"

"First of all," Harry told me as we continued on our way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, "It's not that late. It's only. . . ." His voice trailed off as he looked at an ancient grandfather clock to the right of us. "Oh, never mind, it _is_ late. Whatever. Second of all, I was just . . . taking a walk." I eyed a suspicious bulge of material underneath his jacket, almost as if he were hiding a cloak of some sort under there . . . hmm . . .

"Mhm, that's what they _all_ say," I said jokingly.

"Oh, so you've contradicted more people about taking walks at night?" Harry mockingly asked me, his eyes glittering with amusement.

"I was not contradicting you!" I scolded him, smiling. "I was just . . . asking you a question! Sheesh!" At that moment, however, my super-natural hearing picked up the delicate noise of a cat walking towards the spot where Harry and I stood. I quickly placed my hand over Harry's mouth, signaling him to be quiet.

"Mrs. Norris is coming this way," I whispered in his ear, "And unless you wish to get a detention, I would be quiet." Harry nodded his head and I dropped my hand. As one, we silently stalked off in the opposite direction, trying to evade Mrs. Norris.

"Where do we go now?" I asked Harry, the two of us communicating in whispers.

"I know a secret passage just ahead," Harry replied. "Follow me, and stay quiet." I nodded my head and followed Harry through a gloomy pathway. Soon, we found ourselves standing just a few feet away from the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Flibbertigibbet," I muttered under my breath. The Fat Lady lazily nodded her head without even bothering to open her eyes to see who was speaking, and the portrait swung open, admitting Harry and myself into the Gryffindor Common Room.

"That was a close one," I mentioned to Harry, who merely nodded, looking into my eyes in a slightly suspicious way.

"How did you know that Mrs. Norris was coming?" he asked me. I felt my heart (yes, Vampires still have hearts, and they still beat, despite many rumors) skip a beat. "I couldn't hear Mrs. Norris, so how did you know?"

I stood before Harry, my mind whirring, trying to come up with an adequate answer. Thankfully, I was saved from answering his nosy question when a voice drifted over from the fireplace.

"There you are, Harry," Hermione said, her head popping up over the couch. "Ron and I were getting worried, where have you be — oh, hi Hazel!"

"Hi, Hermione!" I replied, smiling at Hermione, ignoring Harry's angry glare at me. "Well, I think I'm going to go upstairs; I'm kind of tired. Good night!" Without another word, I skipped up the stairs to the girl's dormitories, never happier that Harry couldn't follow me up there.

* * *

"Hazel, wake up!" I flinched and shot upright, my hazel eyes narrowed and scanning the room. I relaxed when I saw that it was only Hermione.

"Yeah, what is it, Hermione?" I asked, yawning and stretching. I snatched a glance at the clock besides my bed. It was already 10:00am.

"Time to get up, breakfast is almost gone!"

"Ugh, do I have to move?"

"Do you want food or not?"

". . . Fine, I'll get up." I got out of my bed and jumped in the bathroom, took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, and changed into proper 'witch attire'. Once I was ready, I walked out of the bathroom to find Hermione sitting on her bed, reading a book. She looked up when she heard the door open.

"Okay, come on," she said, marking the page in her book and setting it aside. I followed her down into the Great Hall, where we chose seats next to Harry and Ron.

"So, Hazel," Harry said as soon as I sat down. "You never answered my question last night. How did you know that Mrs. Norris was coming if I couldn't hear or see her?"

"Eh," I replied, not looking at anybody, concentrating on spooning hashed browns onto my plate. "I could smell her."

"You could _smell_ her?" Ron repeated incredulously. I looked up at him and nodded, my face serious.

"Yeah, she really needs a bath, but I think Filch is too afraid to try," I stated conversationally. Ron and Hermione laughed, but Harry glared at me. I decided that it was time to change the topic.

"So, what are we going to do today?" I asked the trio. "It's the first weekend of the school year!" Ron and Harry shrugged, while Hermione gasped.

"Oh, I just realized," she said, looking at me. "I know that Ron and Harry won't come with me, but I have to look up more information about Vampires in the library for Professor Binns' assignment! You can come with me!" I paused, and noticed that Harry and Ron were purposely not looking at each other, working hard to conceal their grins.

"Uh — sure," I said to Hermione, and she beamed. Truthfully, I had no need to study about Vampires — considering that I _was_ one — but I decided to go anyway, not only as a cover-up, but so that I could laugh at all of the rumors hidden within the books.

Hermione and I quickly finished our breakfast and rushed off to the library, leaving Harry and Ron seated at the table, laughing at the fact that I was dragged off to do homework on a weekend.

* * *

"Ooh, look," Hermione said, pointing to the far corner of the library. We had just stepped inside, and already she was hunting for the perfect book. "The best table in the whole library is empty!" I looked to where she was pointing and saw, with dread, that the table in particular was not only right next to a whole row of books all devoted to Vampires, but it was bathed in sunlight.

I had no choice but to sit next to Hermione, the vicious sunlight stabbing at my body. Hermione noticed my discomfort and spoke up.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking at me over the rim of her book. I shook my head, gritting my teeth into the pain, and picked up a book titled "Vampires: What Are They?" Within a matter of seconds, I was inwardly cracking up at the myths and false rumors hidden beneath the margins of the book. However, the book was not sufficient enough to take the pain of the sun off of my mind.

Not able to take it any longer, I quickly stood up and moved into the shade of the bookshelves, pretending to browse for a new book. As my skin began to heal the faint red rashes that had begun to appear, my thoughts wandered to why my skin was so sensitive. I cautiously sat back down, still thinking. It wasn't like I hadn't had blood in days, and the sun wasn't even that strong today. Then why . . .

"Hazel?" Hermione's voice jerked me from my thoughts. I jumped slightly in my seat and turned to face her.

". . . Were you paying attention to what I was saying?"

"Um," I replied. "Of _course_ I was!" Hermione eyed me suspiciously.

"Oh really?" she asked me. "Then what is the answer to the question that I just asked you?"

". . . E=mc squared?" I asked her, a picture of pure innocence upon my face. Hermione glared at me.

"No, I was asking you about the ball!" Hermione half-yelled. "So, what do you think you're going to wear? Who are you going to take?" I stared at Hermione.

"Um, Hermione?" I asked her.

"Yeah?"

". . . The ball's not till November. It's only the first week of school."

"Yes, well, it's always good to plan ahead," Hermione replied. I shook my head.

"No wonder you're always so on top of your work. . . ." Hermione and I laughed. Suddenly, I got the feeling that we were being watched. Vampiric reactions kicking in, I turned slowly in my chair, my muscles clenched and ready for battle, only to see Ron and Harry headed for our table. I allowed myself to relax, and realized that I needed to get a grip; it wasn't likely that I'd be attacked in the middle of Hogwarts anytime soon.

"You guys are _still_ here?" Ron asked us bewilderedly. Hermione and I nodded, and I stood up.

"Well, actually, I was about to back up to the common room," I said, avoiding Hermione's glaring eye. "You know — to . . . uh . . . rest a bit for our classes . . . on Monday. See you later, Hermione, Ron, Harry!"

Before any of them could protest, I swiftly walked out of the library, my Hogwarts cloak billowing out behind me. I was three quarters of the way to the Common Room when I suddenly stopped in my tracks, a flash of gray capturing my attention. I turned to the left and felt my heart skip a beat. There, perched on a windowsill and trying to get into the castle, was a large, Great Gray owl._ "The same Great Gray owl that I used to send my letter to my father!"_

Springing towards the window, I opened it and allowed the owl to step inside. As soon as I detached the letter from his leg, the massive owl flew off, leaving me to read the urgent letter in silence.

"_Dearest Hazel,_" it began. I slowly walked to the Gryffindor Common Room, my eyes never leaving the piece of parchment that I held between my now shaking hands.

"No . . ." I whispered, horrified, when I saw the last line of the letter. "This can't be happening. . . ."

Clutching the paper in my hand, I sprinted towards the Common Room, keen on writing back a response as soon as I could. Things were getting serious, and it was time to fight back.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

**HERMIONE'S POV, THREE WEEKS LATER...**

I frantically scrambled through my shared dormitory, desperately trying to locate my missing homework assignment.

"Oh, where did it go, where did it go?" I exclaimed to the empty room, darting around open books strewn around my bed. Pausing in my frenzy to find my homework, I looked over at Hazel's bed. Yesterday I had used magic to clean up the room, as I had spilled ink everywhere. Maybe the force of the spell blew my homework somewhere near Hazel's area.

Knowing all too well that I only had a few minutes before class started, I ran over to where Hazel's bed was and began looking around for my Ancient Runes homework. After futilely looking under Hazel's bed for a few minutes, I sprung up and was about to give up and just go to class when, accidentally tripped over Hazel's trunk, knocking it over on the ground. I gasped in pain and surprise as all of Hazel's unpacked belongings spilled out of her trunk.

"Darn it!" I whispered to myself. "Class is about to start. . ." I quickly bent down and began to hurriedly throw all of Hazel's stuff back in her trunk. Later, I reasoned, I would explain to her why her trunk was so messy, but now I had to go to Ancient Runes before I would be too late.

Snatching a slightly crinkled and folded piece of paper off of the ground, I was about to throw it in the trunk when my eye caught a glance of what was written inside of the paper. Knowing that it didn't look like normal letters, I smoothed out the paper and opened it up, to find myself looking at a paper full of odd shapes and characters. However, the 'writing' looked slightly familiar to me. . .

"Oh, Hazel must have also left her Ancient Runes homework in her trunk," I told myself. "I'll just bring it to her. But first, I have to find my homework!" Re-folding the piece of paper, I stuck it in my pocket and continued to clean up the mess I made. Finally, everything was cleared up. Sighing, I straightened up and glanced at my watch. Crap, I was late for class.

I hurriedly ran over to my Ancient Runes book and picked it up. I was about to leave the room when a piece of paper fell out of my heavy book. Taking a closer look, I saw that it was my Ancient Runes homework that I had just spent the past fifteen minutes looking for. With a slight smile at my own stupidity, I rushed out of the dormitory and headed for my class that I was late to.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, Professor Mellow," I said, barging into the Ancient Runes room. Professor Mellow looked up quizzically at me from behind her glasses.

"It's not like you to be late, Ms. Granger," she stated, remaining seated behind her desk.

"I'm sorry, Professor," I sincerely said. "It won't happen again."

"It better not," Professor Mellow replied. "I have given everybody else the chance to double check their homework answers. Take a seat and begin." I quickly scanned the room and found Hazel sitting at an empty table. Striding over to the table, I dumped my stuff on the table and sat down.

"Why were you late?" Hazel whispered to me.

"I lost my homework," I replied. "I found it, though; it was in my Ancient Runes book." Hazel smiled.

"Nice one," she said, looking from the book to her homework, silently checking her answers. "Real smooth." I was about to reply when I acknowledged what I was seeing. Hazel had her homework and she was double checking it. Well, if Hazel had her homework, then what was the paper I had in my pocket?

"Class, time's up!" Professor Mellow said from the front of the classroom. "Ms. Kerrison, would you kindly collect all papers?"

"Yes, Professor," Hazel said, standing up. My eyes followed her around the room, still thinking deeply, even though class continued without my full attention. _"Those shapes on the paper weren't Ancient Runes characters," _I finally realized. _"Where have I seen them before? Hazel, what are you hiding?"_

_

* * *

_

"You found this in her _trunk?_" Ron whispered hoarsely to me. It was lunch time, and Hazel was nowhere to be seen. So, I took that opportunity to show Ron and Harry the letter I found.

"Yes," I hissed back for the tenth time. "At first, I thought it was in Ancient Runes hieroglyphics, but then I realized that they look nothing like those kinds of hieroglyphics."

"Then where are they from, and what do they mean?" Harry asked me. I rolled my eyes.

"That's what we're going to find out!" I shot back. Blank stares met my words.

"What do you mean, _we_?" Ron asked me cautiously. I glared back at Ron.

"I mean all three of us are going to get to the bottom of this once and for all." Once again, silence met my words.

"Hermione," Harry said weakly. "It's only the second month of school! Why are you so suspicious of Hazel?" I paused. "_Well?_"

I stayed silent.

"Come on, Hermione!" Ron said. "You have to tell us! If you want either of us to help you, you have to fill us in!"

"Fill you in on what?" I froze. Hazel had finally arrived at lunch.

"Oh, hey Hazel!" I said in a friendly tone. "Why are you so late to lunch?'

"I forgot something in the Dormitory," Hazel replied, glancing down at her pockets quizzically. "Though I didn't find it. . . I was _sure_ I had left it in my trunk. . ." My heart skipped a beat. "Darn it, that was an important letter. . ." Hazel murmured the last part to herself, still searching her pockets.

"Need any help finding it?" I asked, pretending to be clueless as to what the letter was.

"Nah," Hazel replied, finally spooning some hashed browns onto her plate. I swear, that girl is addicted. "It's just a letter I got from home. I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere."

_ "Aha!"_ I silently thought to myself, turning my attention to the food in front of me. _"A letter from home. But the point remains . . . why would a letter from her home be written in code? Unless. . ._"

"Um, I just remembered!" I quickly stammered, standing up in a flash. Ron, Harry, and Hazel all looked up at me in confusion. "I— uh — forgot to do some Arithmancy homework that's due today!" With that, I was gone, sprinting towards the Gryffindor Common Room. In reality, I hadn't forgotten my homework, but it was a good excuse. Besides, I had to think over the possibility that had just entered my head.

Stopping to rest for breath just outside the Common Room, I finally came to a conclusion. After muttering the password to the Fat Lady, I stepped into the golden-red room before me, my head buzzing with thoughts.

"Hazel's family. . ." I whispered to myself.

_". . .is in allegiance with Lord Voldemort?"_

_

* * *

_

"_WHAT?_" Ron and Harry exclaimed.

"That — that's impossible!" Harry yelled.

"But what if it's true?" I demanded. Both Ron and Harry stayed silent, yet again staring at me. Taking that as a sign to explain myself, I continued.

"I mean, look at the facts!" I stated. "Hazel has been suspicious lately, she received a letter from her _home_ that was in _another language!_ Besides, you heard Hazel, she said the letter was _urgent!_"

"So?" This time it was Ron. "That doesn't mean that her and her family are affiliated with You-Know-Who!" I glared back at Ron.

"Ron, now's not a time to think that anybody's innocent. Voldemort returned to power last year, Harry saw it himself. Voldemort's probably trying to re-create his army, and he needs all the dark support he can get! I'm telling you, _Hazel and her family are in a liege with Voldemort!_ They're trying to get him back up to his seat on the throne!"

"Ron, maybe she's right," Harry said thoughtfully, staring out a window as we made our way down to the Great Hall for dinner. "I mean, Hazel has been acting strange lately, and she's been oddly shifty." Ron opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish.

"You can't be serious!" he weakly exclaimed. When neither Harry nor I answered him, Ron faced forward, looking at the general direction of the Great Hall. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this, even if it means asking Hazel about that letter!" Before I could stop him, Ron sprinted into the Great Hall, headed right for where Hazel was sitting.

Without a word to Harry, I quickly ran after Ron, desperate to get to him before he reached Hazel. However, before I knew it, Ron was standing before Hazel. In a flash, before Ron could even open his mouth, I was right beside him, hurriedly making up an excuse for my hasty appearance.

"Hazel!" I exclaimed, sitting down next to her. Ron sat across from us, glaring at me the whole time, angry that I had prevented him from speaking with Hazel. A moment later, Harry joined him. "Did you know that . . . uh . . . we have an essay due tomorrow? I mean, an essay! Due tomorrow! And it has to be a full foot-long!"

Hazel raised her eyebrow at me. ". . .So? Professor Mellow told us that near the end of class, _and_ she gave us time to work on it. Why'd you repeat it?"

I felt the flaming heat of a blush leaping around my face. "Well, I wasn't sure you were paying attention," I murmured. Thankfully, just then, the plates in front of us filled up with food.

The whole time I was eating, I couldn't help but be suspicious of Hazel. I mean, what if she really was a supporter of Voldemort? Or worse, what if her parents — or even her — were Death Eaters?

* * *

"But she got placed in Gryffindor!" Ron yelled at me. We were back in the Common Room, which was now deserted. Hazel was off sending a letter — or at least, that's what she said she was doing.

"The hat wouldn't have placed Hazel in Gryffindor if she supported Voldemort," Ron continued. "Or if she or somebody in her family is a Death Eater."

"Yes, but remember?" I shot back. "Hazel told all of us that the hat had thought about putting her in Slytherin. Explain that, _Ronald._" Okay, so I admit, I was just taking my anger and frustration out on Ron.

"I. . .well. . . she. . ." Ron sputtered like a goldfish out of water.

"_Exactly_," I forcefully said. "And I can prove it to you, too. The next time Hazel wanders around at nighttime without us, we will follow her. I'm willing to bet that she's going to send a letter to her family, maybe telling them about Voldemort's newest plan."

Both Ron and Harry stared at me in bewilderment.

"Well? Are you in?" I asked them, rather forcefully. Ron and Harry looked at each other.

". . . Fine, but if I'm right, you drop the whole 'Hazel is working for You-Know-Who' thing. Deal?" Ron asked me. I looked at him.

"Deal."

And so the plan was made.


	6. Chapter Six

**Wow. It's been, what, 3 years? Geez, I'm sorry about that!**

**Okay, so as you can tell, I changed my name from DrkHrtWritr27 to Leilani96. The reason for that is in my profile (really, I just thought the former was a bit . . . juvenile. Leilani96 doesn't scream maturity, but it's a bit better).**

**Now, story time! Just some quick things:**

**1. Apparently in the earlier chapters I was under the impression that Gryffindor was spelled "Griffindor." Don't worry, though, I went back and fixed it!**

**2. My writing style is very different in this chapter (and will be in future chapters), and for that I apologize. I couldn't really get into how I used to write, so I hope you like how I write now!**

**3. 3,821 words! Enjoy! =D**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Nighttime was normally one of my favorite times. The velvety darkness enveloping everything in its path, the hush of nature as most creatures got ready for their slumber, the few calls of insects and nocturnal beings to each other; nighttime was just so peaceful. Tonight, however, I was restless, and not just because it was the night of the new moon. Matters at home seemed to be getting worse with each owl correspondence.

I was lying in the middle of an odd clearing I had found the first week of school – it was so hard to believe that was only a month ago. Each day seemed to last a lifetime, each hour full to bursting with worry and stress. I could recall clearly the letter that started off this endless cycle of trepidation.

I closed my eyes and tried to relax, forcing myself to breathe deeply and calmly. The nearby snap of twigs set my senses on high alert, jolting me up from the ground into a fighting position. My heart raced as I extended my fangs. I had already fed on a half-mauled deer, so I was just beginning to enter my strongest state. I narrowed my eyes and waited on baited breath for the intruder to appear. Out of the shadows stepped an odd creature, a skeleton-like apparition with long, leathery wings and doe-like eyes. I relaxed and strode forward, my hand extended.

"Hello there," I said calmly, stroking the baby thestral on the neck. It made an odd purring noise and arched its neck against my hand, clearly enjoying the feeling. "How are you?" The thestral gazed into my eyes before turning away and trotting to the center of the clearing. It opened its mouth and made a shrieking noise. Soon, its mother appeared out of the darkness as well. She glanced at me nonchalantly, having had already recognized my scent from my weekly nighttime visits, before joining the youngster. More and more thestrals arrived at the clearing; their nightly resting spot. I leaned against one of the bordering trees and watched them nose each other gently before snuggling up to their mates and offspring. We had two thestrals at home, but I was still amazed every time I saw Hogwarts' herd. There were so many of them, yet all of them were tame! It was truly an impressive feat.

_Home._ That word made my insides twinge with fear again. At times I felt like rolling my eyes for being so fearful, but the way my father had written those letters . . . it seemed as though fear was the only option. Fear and retaliation. Yet somehow, it was my family's duty to set aside our fear, ignore the idea of a full-blown retaliation, and organize a plan that would save us all. Yeah right; life isn't that simple.

I closed my eyes and leaned further into the bark, feeling the rough wood through my robes. My brow furrowed as I tried to view the situation from yet another angle. First though, I reviewed what I knew.

Ever since I was a child, my father warned me about what my existence may mean to some other Vampires. Not all Vampires were like our family, he had told me. There were essentially two groups of Vampires: the Violent ones and the Docile ones. Docile isn't perhaps the best word to use, but that was how he always explained our clan. We were Docile.

I bit my lip when I realized that docile was truly how we appeared, especially once compared to the Violent Vampires. They were the ones people like Gilderoy Lockhart and Eldred Worple wrote about with so much criticism. In fact, Worple had the most insight a mortal could get; he dealt with both Vicious and Docile Vampires regularly, though he tried to limit his time with the Violent ones – for good reason. Worple's companion, Sanguini, actually used to be a Violent Vampire until he met Worple. The writer somehow managed to turn Sanguini over to the less violent act of drinking animal blood, and now the two toured regularly across the country.

If only there were more, braver Worples out there. Then the Violent Vampires wouldn't be so powerful. As my dad had said, it wasn't bad for a Vampire to give in to their blood lust every once in a while, but if it's done too often, the brutality of murder can get to a Vampire's head. It's enough to make any Vampire go crazy for human flesh, which is what has been happening at an alarming rate. The majority of my father's letters were full of tales of Vampires slaughtering helpless human families, but not for blood. Just for fun, was what my father said. The Violent Vampires were getting too powerful and too cocky. However, it wasn't like we could just up and declare war on them; they were our kind, and it's an unwritten rule that Vampires should never battle each other. Sure, there is the occasional spat, but a full out war? Never.

With an agitated groan, I opened my eyes and looked up at the new moon. Why did this have to be so inexplicably complicated? Why couldn't we just set boundaries for our own kind, and lay a law down that enforced a border? That way, if any of the Violent Vampires tried to enter our land, we could lawfully take them out. It would certainly keep them in line, and keep them away from more innocent families.

Unfortunately, I had already suggested this idea to my father. As the acting leader of the Docile Vampires, he was therefore in charge of which military decisions would be passed. He was chosen because of his strange ability to view a single situation from both sides and ultimately choose the correct path that would lead to the least amount of negativity from both sides. It was a gift many wished they had, although my father did not always immediately know the correct answer. This was such an occasion; he had to be shown the possibility in order for him to acknowledge that it was the right path.

It was all so confusing and frustrating. My idea wasn't really my idea at all; it had been suggested so many times across the board it was starting to be referred to as Operation Hopeless. Why "Hopeless?" Because it was hopeless to suggest it anymore, for my father refused point-blank every time.

_"There is always another answer,"_ was his famous line. _"We just need to keep thinking. Now, what if we look at it from another angle?"_

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" I muttered angrily to the star-punctured sky. "It's not as easy as it looks, you know." The stars twinkled down on me innocently, as if they held the answer to everything but refused tell. I sighed. Yelling at burning balls of gas billions of miles away wasn't going to help anything.

Sighing yet again, I stood up and carefully stretched my weary limbs. Gliding soundlessly over the grass, I stepped around the snoozing thestrals and continued on my way back to the castle. My bed had never seemed like an amazing invention of plush feathers, soft quilts, and fluffy pillows . . .

_"Stop it!"_ I chided myself. _"You'll fall asleep before you even get to the front gates!"_ A gust of cold wind seemed to agree with my thoughts. The wind seemed to foretell cold winter nights not too far away. I guess I didn't really mind the winter too much. The snow was pretty awful; it glimmered far too brightly for any full-blooded Vampire to handle without any pain. Even I, with my somewhat more immune half-blood eyes, couldn't stand the snow after a few hours. However, the snow did muffle everything, and at night, when the reflecting light wasn't too bright, it was truly beautiful. It also provided more opportunities to eat. Many times there were weak animals that couldn't escape the bitter chill of winter, and succumbed to the cold's kiss of death. Eating a partially frozen animal isn't necessarily fun, but it isn't outright disgusting. It just takes patience.

I continued walking through the forest, thinking about ice and winter, when suddenly my tangent-oriented mind took me to a place I wish it hadn't. _Cold._ What brought cold chills to its victims? _Dementors._ Who had pretty much every single Dementor under his control, waiting and biding his time for the perfect moment? _Voldemort._

_ Voldemort._

I stood stock-still, my eyes unfocused and somewhat dazed. What if . . . ? I almost didn't want to finish my thought, but my mind forced through my hesitance. What if Voldemort was somehow behind the recent upsurge in attacks? What if he finally managed to break through our barricades and talk to the Violent leaders? It would certainly make sense, but why would the Docile leaders not notice the presence of Voldemort? Unless . . .

I gasped at the cruel brilliance of Lord Voldemort and the simplicity of his plan. He had found a Violent clan member outside of their territory. It wasn't too far-fetched; they frequently left their marked territory (rather illegally, I must say) to prey on more victims.

So that was it, then. Voldemort had found a Violent Vampire, spoke to him or her, and easily convinced them to talk to their leaders. After that Vampire conversed with the rest of the Violent clan, they joined forces with Voldemort. Now they were intruding on Docile territory, perhaps trying to break the law and start a war. I wouldn't put it above them; the Violent clan was truly vicious.

Mind alight with this revelation, I forced my legs into action. I took off through the dense foliage, dodging through trees and bushes alike. I had to send another owl, I just had to! My father had to know exactly what was going on. Or at least, what I thought was going on. Suddenly though, I stopped dead in my tracks and groaned.

"Balderdash!" I added in a few loud swear words for good measure, kicking a boulder. A large crack ran up the side of it from the force of the blow, splitting the rock in two. I had already sent an owl to my father the previous day. I couldn't send another owl to him, there was a greater possibility of the second owl being intercepted. As my father always said, _"With owls, two is _not_ better than one."_ A stupid rule of his, but a rule nonetheless. My revelation would have to wait for the moment.

I managed to calm myself down a bit and urged my legs forward, though at a much slower pace than before. My epiphany, along with the fact I had to wait for my father's response before I could tell him anything important, would keep me very agitated over the next few days, I just knew it. Hopefully the owl would be as fast as he was last time, but it was a bit unlikely. My father most likely wouldn't have time to respond to the owl for a few extra days, he would be so busy speaking to the Docile militants. Aggravating was an understatement, but it did describe my situation fairly well.

I managed to keep walking at a fairly normal pace through the rest of the forest. Once my feet touched the grass near Hagrid's hut, my walking inexplicably sped up. I needed my rest, and sleep was all I could do for now. There was nothing I could do about the owl or my father's slow responses. All that was left for me to do was rest up and clear my mind. I still had school to attend and classes to pass.

_"Great, now I'm rambling,"_ I thought to myself, scowling faintly at the ground. _"Oh, lack of sleep, whatever would I do without you?"_

But my thoughts on Voldemort were certainly not dark fabrications brought up by sleep deprivation. Those were the real deal, I was sure of it, just as sure as I was that Harry had told the truth and that Voldemort had truly risen to power once more. Like my mother said, we would have to be idiots of monumental stupidity not to believe Harry's words; why would he have lied about Voldemort's resurrection? Fudge's slanderous attempts to silence Harry were not just stupid, they would jeopardize everybody's health. The first step to stopping Voldemort was to acknowledge his presence. Otherwise, nobody would be able to recognize the signs of dark magic.

I stopped in my tracks for the third time that night, freezing every muscle in my body. _Somebody was there._ Still frightened and thinking of Voldemort, I allowed my body to undergo the necessary precautions. My eyes flashed red, my fangs extended, and my fingernails grew stronger. I breathed deeply, smelling the air with my now heightened senses. My eyes closed briefly as I caught the scent of three humans nearby.

_"Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy?"_ I asked myself. I re-opened my vibrant eyes and scanned the scenery. Oddly enough, I didn't see anything. I was confused; my eyes had flipped over to their Vampire half, so they were exponentially stronger than they normally were when they were disguised as mortal eyes. But how could I not see anything? Unless they were hiding . . . somewhere . . . somehow.

I hunched over slightly, a low hissing noise escaping my throat. I didn't mean for it to happen, it was habit, for I was in hunting mode; a hunter hunting humans. The thought of that made my stomach flip in disgust, but I knew I wouldn't do any more killing until next month.

"Show yourselves!" I snapped out, my voice spreading quickly through the chilly October air. My eyes involuntarily flashed even brighter red, and I knew that anybody could tell the color wasn't normal, even if they were twenty feet away. I closed my eyes for a brief moment and tried to get the color under control. Once I was sure they weren't as glowingly red, my eyes opened. This time, I saw slight impressions in the grass some thirty feet to my left. I turned to face the divots in the ground, snarling menacingly.

"I know you're there!" My voice was stronger than it was before, the Vampiress in me rising and giving my voice a commanding feel to it. "Show yourselves!" I repeated, narrowing my eyes at where I was sure the three Slytherins were hiding. They surely had a great quality invisibility cloak, as most Vampires could see through the cheaper ones. Then again, I was a half-Vampire, so it made sense I wouldn't be able to see through their cloak, even if it was a very shoddy one.

There was a pause in which I heard a light ruffling. The air wrinkled oddly before an invisibility cloak was swirled off three heads. I staggered backwards, shocked beyond belief. My mouth fell open in disbelief.

" . . . Hazel?"

It wasn't Crabbe, Goyle, or Malfoy. Their exact opposites were standing in front of me, looking as bemused and bewildered as I felt.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione looked at me in shock.

* * *

**Ron's POV**

I stared at Hazel, not believing my eyes. How had she managed to slip away from the castle without a cloak? Next to me, I heard Harry's voice.

"H . . . how did you get here?" he asked her incredulously. Hazel blinked a few times before answering.

"I walked out, same as you," she retorted, her sarcastic self once more. The initial shock of seeing us clearly wore off, and she walked closer to us. The moon reflected off of her hazel eyes, making them appear silvery in the night.

_"What odd humor her parents must have, naming her after her eye color,"_ I mused silently. Then I remembered the color they had appeared to be before. _"Red eyes? No, it must have been a trick of the moon or something. Nobody has red eyes, not even Inferi."_ I glanced over to my right to see if Hermione had noticed anything odd as well. Her eyes were focused on Hazel, however, so I gave up on her as a source and looked back at Hazel.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked her cautiously, knowing that we had no right to ask her such a question. After all, we were "out there" too. And of course, Hazel responded rather defensively.

"I could as you the same thing," Hazel replied, her eyes looking over us a bit suspiciously. "It's nearly 1am. Why are you near Hagrid's hut? He's not back yet, you know." We glanced at each other, guilty. She had nailed it on the first guess. Ever since we found out Hagrid wasn't back yet from Dumbledore's mission, we had been walking down near his hut at least once a week. It was stupid, but we were worried about him.

"Okay, you know why we're out here," Hermione said curtly. Harry and I were shocked; Hermione and Hazel never spoke harshly to each other. "Now tell us why you're here!"

Hazel looked at Hermione, clearly surprised her friend was speaking in such hard tones. It was a moment before she shrugged nonchalantly.

"I have really bad insomnia sometimes," she said with a light blush. "Taking walks helps clear my head. I was just heading back for the dormitory when I thought I heard something. You guys really scared me." I looked at Hazel, confused. Before she had seemed so on edge, so tense. Now she was speaking lightly and carefree, as if she was a completely different person. Apparently I was the only one to notice, for Hermione nodded understandingly, compassion filling her face.

"Oh," she said, seeming ashamed at her earlier tone, "sorry. We were afraid you were a teacher or something." Hazel smiled tiredly.

"No worries," she replied. "I'm going to go up to the castle. You guys coming with?" Now that was the Hazel we all knew again. I must have imagined her earlier tenseness. I opened my mouth, about to say "sure," but Harry beat me to the punch after a meaningful glance at Hermione.

"No, we have to go feed Fang," he said. "You know, Hagrid's boarhound. He doesn't like new people, though, and we don't want to wake up the castle . . ." Harry trailed off, clearly unsure as to how to tell Hazel she wasn't welcome, but she took it in stride.

"I understand." She smiled warmly at the three of us, obviously not upset. "I'll see you guys tomorrow – er – later today, I guess it would be." With a light shrug, she turned around and walked back up to the castle. The moment she was out of sight and out of earshot, I turned to Harry.

"What was that about?" I asked him, confused. "We never feed Fang. Why – ?" Hermione cut me off before I could finish my question.

"Ron, do you remember what we agreed on?" she asked me quietly. I fell silent, thinking.

_ ". . . The next time Hazel wanders around at nighttime without us, we will follow her. I'm willing to bet that she's going to send a letter to her family, maybe telling them about Voldemort's newest plan."_ Hermione's voice from a month ago came drifting through my mind. I nodded at her, finally remembering.

"I didn't see an owl," I told her. "How do you think she managed to communicate with him? I still don't think she's in league with . . . you know. You-Know-Who." Hermione frowned slightly, thinking over my words. Harry, however, was staring at the spot Hazel left. I waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Harry, pay attention now." He flinched and looked around at us, an odd look in his eyes.

"Did you notice how her eyes were red when she was calling out to us?" Harry asked us. Silence fell over us as we thought.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I thought it was just a trick the moon was playing on my eyes. You saw it too?" Harry nodded, and we looked at Hermione, who had paled considerably.

"What?" Harry asked her. She turned her wide eyes on to his face.

"Didn't you see her mouth?" she asked us. Harry and I stared awkwardly at her.

"Uh . . ." we said somewhat in unison. What an uncomfortable question to ask! "What?"

"Her mouth!" Hermione stressed, exasperation littering her tone. "Well, her teeth, really."

"Why? What about them?" Harry quickly responded. Hermione's still terrified eyes flickered between the two of us.

"She had fangs."

* * *

**Hermione's POV**

They stared at me, confused and disbelieving. I ignored their incredulous looks, thinking about how Hazel avoided sitting in direct sunlight for extended periods of time, how she seemed to have strangely fast reflexes, and how she acted just before discovering us underneath the invisibility cloak. Hadn't she hissed?

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed weakly. "You've got to be kidding me." I looked at him, bemused.

"What?" I asked. "It makes sense! All the signs are there!" _Signs._ It suddenly hit me where I had seen those symbols from so long ago before. My mouth dropped slightly.

"What?" Harry urged. I shook my head weakly. "What?" he asked more forcefully. I swallowed before answering.

"Do you remember that letter Hazel got from her parents?" I asked the two of them. After a moment of thinking, they both nodded. "I know where I saw those symbols."

"But I thought they weren't Ancient Runes," Ron said, crinkling his brow. "Didn't you say that?" I nodded, still shaken up.

"That's because they weren't written in Ancient Runes."

Harry looked at me, clearly not enjoying the building tension of our conversation. "Enough dancing around it!" he hissed. "Where did you see it?"

I took a deep breath. "Do you remember that assignment I had to write for Professor Binns about Vampires?" Harry and Ron gasped a bit after I said 'Vampires' before they nodded mutely. "Well, one part of the book I was reading mentioned a weird code that Vampires use to communicate between themselves. It's called the Code of Vampires."

"Clever name," Ron interjected. I glared at him; making jokes at a time like this? Shaking my head, I continued.

"Anyway, they had a sample of the Code in the book. I knew I had seen those symbols before! That note from Hazel's family, it was written in the Code, I'm sure of it!" The silence that hung over our heads lasted for what seemed like forever. Finally, Harry spoke.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" he croaked out. He looked over at Ron, who looked as pale as I felt.

"She's a Vampire?" Ron whispered. I nodded.

"Precisely."

* * *

**Cliffhanger-ish! Please review and let me know what you think! Also: I can't really decide whether or not I would want this to eventually turn into a romance of sorts between Harry and Hazel. What do you think? Be honest, and please, no flames! I don't have an extinguisher at the ready. =)**

**I'll try to update soon, but I mean, look at my record. I'll at least try to get something posted before I go out of town next week.**


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